Promises
by ColeInnocenceAngel
Summary: Peeta is in the Hunger Games and promises Cole that he will return to him and will stay the same, but that tends to be a problem when he sees Cato Malloy, the District 2 tribute. Cato has also promised his younger siblings that he will return, but the questions still remain. Who will keep their promises and who will die with broken ones.
1. The Parade

_**Hello everybody. Its me again. I have decided that I will write a co-fic to go with "My Name Is" and this is it. I hope that you will like it. It will be entirely in Peeta's POV. I hope to get a lot of reviews from this.**_

_**I do not own the Hunger Games. I do own Cole Shaeper obviously. Lol**_

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**Chapter 1: The Parade**

I look outside of the window for one last look at what brought me total happiness. His name is Cole Shaeper. He is a sweet 12 year old with shimmering, golden hair and eyes that are the color of the sky. His skin is the color of caramel, and when he speaks it is as if speaking to an angel. I'm not in love with him but always loved him like a brother.

My family started to take care of this innocent boy when he lost his parents 4 years ago, his father in a mine explosion and his mother in a public shooting execution. He came running to our house the night after the loss of his mother, and he was shivering and weeping like clouds in a rain storm. I remember looking into his soft eyes and seeing the terror and depression that was in them. When I saw his face, it was as if there was a switch within me that turned on, causing me to want to protect this boy.

I was brought from my flashback by the sound of knocking coming from my door.

"Peeta," Effie's voice trilled. "Come to dinner."

I reluctantly get off of the plush bed and walk out of my assigned room and down the carpeted hallway to the dining area. I catch eye of Effie sitting at the table with a drunken Haymitch and a scowling Katniss. I take my seat next to Katniss and then the Avoxes start to serve us delicacies, such as lamb stew and other amazing foods. Effie is pursing her lips at Katniss's horrible manners as she practically inhales all of her food. I giggle as it is hilarious seeing Effie's face.

We all hear someone clearing their voice and turn to see a drunken Haymitch eyeing all of us. He just ignores Effie entirely but looks at me and Katniss as one does two stupid little kids.

"So these are the two tributes I have to lug around for a few days?" He asks while slurring.

This gets Katniss riled up and starts to emit a low growl that gets a "Manners" from Effie. "What is that suppose to me you drunken bimbo?" Katniss growls and seethes with rage. I just keep my mouth shut and don't get myself involved with that.

"Well, _Princess_," he says emphasizing the word he knows will drive Katniss over the edge. "What it means is that to me you are dead weight."

That drives Katniss over the edge. She takes one of the steak knives from the table and tosses it at Haymitch. He easily dodges the projectile and turns to see the knife lodge perfectly in the wall. He turns back to us and has a small smile plastered on his face.

"Katniss, manners." Effie squeals from her side of the table.

"Well well well. It seems that I have a fighter amongst the two." He says while staring at Katniss, "But what about the other?" He turns to me.

"I can fight." I start calmly. "It's just that I have more control over my emotions than Katniss."

"Shut up, bread boy." Katniss says harshly before standing from the table and storming off to her room, where we can hear her scream.

"Well. I will be the judge of that, boy. How about I make a deal with you?"He inquires.

"What might that be?" I chide in.

"I will stay sober enough to actually mentor you as long as you don't mouth off on me. That means fire princess as well." He says while extending his hand.

I think it over for a minute. _**If I do this, then it will be easier to get back to Cole. **_I smile and nod while taking his hand and giving it a firm shake.

"Good. Now my first bit of advice is that you get some sleep. We will be arriving at the Capitol tomorrow and that is also when you will get ready for the 'Death March' as some like to put it." Haymitch says while proceeding to leave to his room.

"Even though I hate to admit it, he does have a point. You do need your sleep since it will be a big, big day." Effie says a bit disgusted by the lack of manners. "Good night, Mr. Mellark."

I stand up and give her a good night before walking back to my room. While in there, I strip down to my navy blue boxers and crawl into bed with my token still latched around my neck. I take of the necklace and give it a once over. It is the music note locket we found while collecting Cole's things from the Community Home. I open it to find different pictures in it than I remember. On the left half, his family is smiling in a family portrait that looks to have been taken when he was a little baby. On the other half, I see a picture of me while decorating a cake. I'm smiling and this picture brings back old memories. I smile and place the necklace on the nightstand next to my bed.

I try to sleep but the blissfulness of dreams doesn't come. It must be from the nervousness of going to the games. I toss and turn in the bed but I can't seem to find slumber. I groan and sit up in my bed, thinking of what to do to pass the time. I decide to go to the lounge car and watch a recap of the Reapings. I slip on some pajama bottoms and stealthily creep my way to the lounge. I sit on the plush sofa and run my hands through it for a few minutes since back in District Twelve we didn't have such luxuries. I finally reach for the remote and turn on the big, flat screen television and find that the Reapings are about to start. Caesar Flickerman and Claudius Templesmith appear on the screen and look as ecstatic as ever to announce the Reapings this year.

"Welcome one and all to the recap of the Reapings!" Claudius says in a booming voice. This year his outfit is a little hurtful to the eyes. His hair is neon green and his makeup adorned the same blinding color.

"Indeed," Caesar agrees. "Welcome to Reaping Recap!" He is still adorning the same looks as always. He still has his cerulean hair color and matching makeup while still wearing his lighting outfit. "Now here we go with District One."

With that, the screen turns black and then a bright and colorful city appears in glimmering colors. The camera appears at the Justice Building where a lot of teenagers are just waiting eagerly to volunteer for the games. Since District One is part of the Careers, they tend to have volunteers along with District Two.

On the stage, there is a man with hair that is tinted magenta and his makeup is a dense shade of maroon. The look is just gruesome to me but I see everyone in the Capitol as this, including Effie.

He starts off the reaping just as Effie does, but instead of deafening silence, there is an uproar of cheers and applause from the crowd. The sound is so immense that I would have heard it from the obliterated District 13.

When the cheers finally diminish and everyone has calmed down drastically, the escort begins to walk toward the sphere containing the slips for the girls in the district.

"Your female tribute for District 1 is… Laura-"he doesn't get to even finish when a girl with shimmering, golden hair raises her hand and volunteers. She slowly saunters up onto the stage where she presents herself to be Glimmer Reece.

After another round of the deafening applause, the escort continues with the program and plucks out a name that belongs to the district's male tribute, but before he could approach the microphone, a boy from the crowd volunteers and races to the stage with great enthusiasm.

"My name is Marvel Laymens." He was a little bit of a stocky boy with jade green eyes and russet brown hair. His smile unhinges me by giving him the look of a serial killer. I glad when the screen finally dies down and continues to District 2.

The escort here is no different than the one from District 1. The only difference is that this one has hair that is electric cyan and matching makeup. It is really bright and hurts my eyes. _**What is with the bright colors for the Capitol citizens? **_Then the escort walks to the ladies' orb and retrieves a slip with the name "Clove Leland."

"Don't you even think about volunteering if you want to make it to next years games!" A girl with charcoal hair and evergreen eyes screams from the crowd. She rushes to the stage and is barely taller than the microphone stand. I mentally tell myself to never piss her off. She held her head up high in determination and her eyes showed her lust for blood.

The man proceeded to the container for the guys and just barely touched the slip when a voice booms from the crowd. When the cameras finally find the boy, my jaw literally drops and I just stare. He was a built boy with eyes like sapphires and hair that shined like gold. You could see his bulging muscles from under his shirt and that just added on to his attractiveness. I could not stop staring at the boy that could make the Greek Goddess of Love, Aphrodite, be swoon.

"What is your name my boy?" the escort says in a deep voice.

"My name is Cato Malloy." His voice just adds onto his attraction. The voice is as smooth as steel but holds bitterness behind it.

After staring at him for a few minutes, I realize that the screen has turned to District 3, where I find that there is not a dangerous tribute and this continues on until is see a girl from District 6 with Auburn hair and hazel eyes with traces of gold in them. She looks to be a human computer with the way she scans the perimeter . I didn't catch her name so I just continue on looking at the program. There are, again, no more deadly tributes until we get to District 11.

The landscape is covered in beautiful orchards and also has vast fields of wheat and corn. When we arrive at the Justice Building, the escort has already called the female tribute and my heart sinks in sorrow. It is a twelve year old girl with chocolate skin and matching eyes. She looks as if she could take flight right off of the stage. I mourn for the petite little girl and can only imagine how Katniss will handle this.

The escort has already picked up the slip with the male tribute and calls the name "Thresh Sunder." After the name was called, a giant boy with a dark shade of brown skin than the girl walks on stage. His face is passive and he doesn't say a word. The escort finishes her speech and then the screen turns black once again and then back on to my home district.

I watch again as Prim's name gets called and Katniss runs ahead of her and volunteers for her sister. I was proud that she did that to save her little sister. I would have done the same with Cole. Next comes my reaping and I can already feel the tears welling in my eyes. I watch as Cole comes running up to me and embracing me. Tears are streaming down his face and he slowly let's me go and I walk on stage.

After that, it returns back to Caesar and Claudius and you can tell that have been crying because there makeup is running a little. "There you have it. Your tributes for the 74th Hunger Games." There is a small pause and then the screen goes completely blank.

I turn of the screen and sluggishly walk to my room, where I fall onto my bed and start crawling underneath the sheets where I finally find sleep.

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I wake up to the sound of Effie banging on my door and yelling "Wake up, Mr. Mellark! It's a big, big day!"

I sit up and stretch in the bed and proceed to the shower to get washed for today. We are supposed to arrive at the Capitol today so I want to make a good impression on my stylist.

After my shower, I go through my wardrobe and pick out my outfit that will just get ripped from my skin by those styling monsters. I pick out a sky blue tee and some blue jeans from the bunch of clothes and proceed to my nightstand to pick up my token. I put the locket around my neck and leave to the dining cart. As I enter, I see Katniss inhale her food as if it will be her last, which it might technically be counted as one of them. I also see that Effie has yet to touch her food and is chatting with a sober Haymitch about something that I can't overhear.

I sit at the mahogany table and proceed to eat the succulent ham and eggs. I take a look at the drink in front of me and am intrigued by the amazing aroma it gives. I hesitantly reach for the drink and take a sip of the creamy liquid. It is a little hot but it settles quickly and I am in love with the drink.

"It's hot chocolate." says Effie in her bubbly voice. Even though I despised the voice at first, it is already starting to warm up to me. "It's a great drink for the holidays we have in the Capitol."

Speaking of the city, our train enters the metropolis and I gape in awe at the extravagant beauty. There were tall buildings with shimmering colors of gold and silver and pavilions with enormous fountains in their centers. How such a beautiful city could house the most hated games in the world is beyond me.

As we enter the train station, it was like staring at a sea of neon. All of the people in the station are wearing bright shades of reds, greens, and blues that are straining on the eyes. I ignore the pain in my eyes and politely wave to the people and that seems to rile them into a frenzy.

As I get off the train, the screams escalate in volume and become piercing to the ear. I am then taken from my group and into one of the rooms of the Remake Center, where I am picked and scrubbed until I am at "beauty base one" as they say.

My prep team consists of Flania, a skinny woman with skin the color of a tangerine and hair a cyan blue with matching makeup; Luviana, a plump woman with long purple finger nails and matching hair and makeup; and Valio, a rather normal sized male with neon green hair with makeup the same color as Flania's skin.

"Oh, Peeta. You are such a handsome young man." Flania complements.

"What happened with that boy from your district was so touching that I cried myself to sleep." Luviana bawls.

Valio doesn't say a word for some reason as he continuously plucks hair from my body. The other two continue to gossip about me, but I block out what they are saying as I try to live through this. Eventually, they say that I am ready to be presented to my stylist, Portia.

I expect Portia to have bright colors and a weird costume but am surprised to see a cocoa skinned woman in a long, black shimmering dress with long black hair walk in. She doesn't look to be altered in any way. Her makeup brings out the gold in her hazel eyes and her body is slim and gorgeous.

"Hello there, Peeta." She says in a sensuous voice. "My name is Portia, and with Cinna and mine's help, we will make you and Katniss the eye catchers of the parade. I have a question for you. Are you afraid of fire?" A mischievous grin spreads across her face and I gulp in nervousness.

I stand on the District 12 chariot as I await the start of the parade. Katniss is standing to my right and she looks radiant in the black skin, tight suit we are fitted in. Her hair is in a fancy braid on top of her head and the makeup she is wearing brings out the fullness of her steel grey eyes.

I look around at the other tributes and look over there costumes. The District one tributes are wearing some flashy suits adorned with gems of various colors that sparkle with every motion they make. The District Two tributes are wearing what look to be roman armor that suits them perfectly. I give Cato a once over and see that with the armor, he looks even more like a Greek God. I eye him for a few more minutes before I notice him staring at me. He has this little smirk on his face that shows he is amused. I blush and quickly turn away and look straight forward.

I think about what I just did for a few minutes before the giant gates out to the street open and the uproar of applause erupts into the building. I'm suddenly nervous and start to shake like a leaf in the wind. Katniss seams to notice and grabs my hand to comfort me.

We soon are the next to exit the building and Cinna and Portia approaches us with little torches to light us up.

"You won't feel a thing Peeta." Portia says in a soothing voice. "It won't singe you. It is just for show." With that said, they light up the capes on our backs and they go ablaze. I get a look at Katniss and she burns with infinite beauty as she shimmers in the light of the fire.

We head out onto the street and the screams escalate louder than before when the citizens see our flaring outfits. I get a look at the big screens along the sides of the street and see that we are amazing. Portia and Cinna did a marvelous job on our outfits for this.

We approach the head of President Snow's mansion and the flames die off to nothing but a little simmer. I choose to ignore the speech since it is the same as the ones before it and get a look at the other tributes. Some of them look envious while others seem to have rage seething from there eyes. I look at Cato to see what he thinks and I see that he has neither rage nor envy but a look I can't quite place. He seems to blush a little and quickly turns back to face the mansion.

The chariots finally start to move and we head back to the building we left and Haymitch, Effie, Cinna, and Portia are waiting for us as we pull up to them.

"Oh, you two were so divine out there. The flames were fantastic." Effie trills in an excited voice.

"Yes. That was great you two. You both should be reeling in the sponsors." Haymitch congratulates us and pats us on our backs. "I think this calls for a feast."

"Agreed and Peeta, You looked spectacular out there. I'm glad that I get to be your stylist, and hope to continue with that."

They all start to walk away but I stay behind to clear my head a little. I had to process what happened out there. These feelings with Cato were messing with my brain and that look he gave me added onto my confusion. I suddenly feel a strong arm pat me on the back and turn to see said hunk stand behind me. I see that he has taken off that helmet I saw him wearing earlier. It is resting in the crook of his arm and I can see a light sheen of sweat on his forehead.

"Hey. Peeta isn't it? My name is Cato Malloy." He says while extending an arm out for a hand shake. His voice still has that smooth sound to it but there is no bitterness behind it. It sounds more sincere and calm.

"Yes. My name is Peeta Mellark and it's good to meet you, Cato." I grab his hand and give it a firm shake before retracting it swiftly. I look into his eyes and see nothing but sweetness in it, and I quickly look away from those glowing blue gems with a blush on my face. I hear him lightly chuckle as he finds it amusing.

"Cute." He mutters but that just makes me blush more. "Hey. How would you like to come join me and the other Careers in training tomorrow?"

I think it over for a minute. If I do it, Katniss might feel betrayed and come after me in the arena, but if I don't, my chances of going home to Cole will diminish. "I would love to join you." I say mannerly.

"Great. When you come to training tomorrow, head to the weightlifting area, and we will be waiting for you there."

I nod and he heads off to join the rest of the Careers. I run to the elevator and press the button that says "12" and the elevator shoots up to the pent house. When the doors open, I see that everyone has been waiting politely for me to arrive. Well everyone except for Haymitch and Katniss. I hastily walk to my room where I get out of my outfit and into some sweat pants and night shirt. I return to the dining area and proceed to eat my food while everyone except for Katniss gossips about the performance.

Before long, I have finished my meal and return to my room for some well deserved rest but it doesn't come so easily. My mind is reeling over the events of the day. I made a fantastic first impression with the outfits that Cinna and Portia have made. I have decided to join Cato and the other Careers in training tomorrow. The only down side to all of this is that if Katniss found out, she would more than likely hunt me down in the arena.

I hope I made the right decision.

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_**There you have it folks. Chapter one of "Promises." I hope that you all enjoyed it. I have to give a shout-out to my friend fadi25402702. He has helped me out a lot with this. I have an announcement to make as well. It might start to get hard for me to update soon. I am probably getting a job and that will take some serious hours away and also school is starting back soon so yea. Well thanks for reading and please review.**_


	2. My Promise

_**Hey there , guys. I know I said that this would be a co fic thing, but I'mm having writer's block for my other fic. This one just came easier to me. I would like to thank those that reviewed and hope that you continue to do so. Well here is Chap. 2.**_

**P.S. I own** **Nothing.**

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**Chapter 2: My Promise**

I wake up from a blissful sleep to the sound of Effie rasping on my door and yelling big, big day again. Today is the first day of training and I am surprised that I actually want to go. I remember Cato asking me to join him and the other Careers at training today, but I'm still worried if Katniss will find this as an act of betrayal.

I groggily stand from the bed a slowly creep to the shower. I look at all of the confusing buttons and switches and press the ones without knowing which ones mean which. When I step out of the shower, I smell like cinnamon and am freezing cold. I wrap myself in a towel and shakily walk to my bed, where it is completely made and a set of clothes are waiting for me.

It seems to be a charcoal black with a fiery red trim and on the back and shoulders is my district number. I quickly put on the clothes and stroll out to the dining area to eat with the others before the training. I see that Katniss is no where in sight and only Haymitch is sitting at the table.

"Hey, Haymitch. May I ask you a question? It concerns training." I say a little too skittishly.

"Sure boy. What is it?" he asks while folding his arms in front of him.

"I was invited by one of the Careers to join them for training today. I was wondering if I should. If I don't, my chances of making it home will shrink, but if I do, then Katniss will probably find it as betrayal and hunt me down. What should I do?" I rub my temples because this stress is really getting to me.

He used one of his hands and started to rub his chin while in thought. "Well, boy, if you want my opinion. I would go with the Careers while trying to hide from Katniss. She already went down so you might want to hurry up." He then got up and went to the kitchen.

I stand up from the mahogany table and walk to the elevator, where I press the button with a "T" on it and descend down to the training area. I look out of the opened doors and see that everyone has already started their training. I see Katniss over at the fire station with that little girl from 11 hiding behind one of the stone columns close by.

I notice the Careers over at the weightlifting station, where they said they would be, and quickly walk over there before Katniss has a chance to see me. Cato is the first one to notice and slowly walks towards me with what looks like rage across his face. I give him a quizzical look since it was his idea for me to train with them.

"You're late, 12." He yells at me.** Well there goes me trying to hide it from Katniss.** "Where have you fucking been?" He grabs me by my arm and brings me closer to him. He almost inaudibly whispers in my ear. "Sorry for being rude. I have to give the charade that I'm in charge so just play along." I nod my head and act terrified.

"I-I accidentally overslept a little. I-I'm so sorry, Cato." I stuttered to give the effect of me being scared shitless.

"You better be." With that, he yanks me to the others and introduces me. "Here is that chump of a district partner to the 'Girl on Fire'."

"Why is he here, Cato?" says Clove. "He isn't part of the Careers is he?" She asks with a groan.

"Yea he is. He's going to help us track down that Katniss chick when we are in the arena. Aren't you fire boy?" He glares at me. I quickly nod as to not get on his bad side. "Good. Now tell us what skills you have and make it quick. I'm itching to use a sword."

"Um, I can toss weights and use camouflage but that is mostly it." I say while looking away from them.

"That won't be of use to us. You're coming with me to the sword station. The rest of you, go practice with your weapons. We will meet back at lunch." They all just stare at him to wait for more orders and it must irritate Cato because yells at them and they scatter like headless chickens.

We walk over to the sword station, where Cato picks one of the most menacing looking swords and tosses me one not as ferocious. He instructs me how to do various slashes and sweeps. We don't talk since he is supposed to be the fierce leader. After working at the sword station for a few hours we get tired and decide to take a break.

"Hey. How about you teach me how to camouflage myself?" He said in a sincere matter. I quickly turned to him to see if he was acting truly sincere and I saw no anger in his eyes. I looked for the camouflage center and saw that it was completely across the center so we would be alone.

"Sure." I say and we start walking to the camouflage area. They have artificially grown trees and shrubs to practice on and different shades of colors to help with shading. I grab some paints and start painting my arm in the shade of tree bark, and that's when he starts talking to me.

"Hey, Peeta. I'm sorry I've been yelling at you. If you come up to the roof tonight, I will explain everything ok?" He apologizes and asks.

"Ok, Cato. I will go up to the roof tonight." That brings a smile to his face that makes me blush. He is one the most beautiful smiles I have ever seen. I go back to painting my arm and hear him get agitated. "What's wrong, Cato?"

I turn and see his sloppy painting and realize that he is agitated at himself. "I'm a horrible painter that's why. How did you get so good?" He asks with irritation plastered on his face.

"Well back in District 12, I used to live in my family's bakery, where I would help decorate the cakes with Cole." Just mentioning his name, started to bring tears to my eyes, but I fought them back into place. He must have seen my depression because he dropped the subject. Soon afterward, the _bring!_ of a bell was heard which signified that lunch was being served.

"I have to put my mask back on so don't forget to act terrified." I nod in understanding and then he turns furious again. We enter the cafeteria and sit at the table with the other Careers, who are currently discussing the other tributes.

"That boy from Three looks to be a total wimp." Clove says.

"Yea he does." Glimmer agrees. "Hey, Cato," She says while clinging to his arm. "Do you want to train with me after lunch?" She says in a seductive tone. I don't know why but that unnerves me entirely and I start to hate the annoying bitch.

"Get off of me you skank." Cato says venomously while shoving her off. A sly smile creeps onto my face, and Cato seems to notice because he puts on a slight smirk before continuing. "I'm going to be training with Pee- I mean 12 again. Speaking of you, 12, what can you tell us about your district partner?" He says, putting all of the attention on me.

I swallow the lump that has built in my throat as I think of what to tell them. Do I tell them that she knows how to hunt or do I lie and say that she doesn't know how to do anything? "She is just like me." I begin. "She doesn't know how to use a weapon at all. I remember her being so distant while we were in 12." I blatantly lie. I was always told that I had a way with words.

"Oh. So she shouldn't be a problem then?" Marvel asks quizzically. He must not fully believe me.

"No, she is as weak as a leaf in the breeze." I say confidently. Everyone except for Cato starts to laugh at how weak I called her. **Wow.** I thought.** These guys are really dense.**

The bell rings again and everyone except for me and Cato get up to put up their trays. When everyone is out of earshot, Cato begins to speak. "You lied didn't you?" He asked in accusing tone. I turn to him shocked that he was able to see through my ruse. "I guess that answers my question. Why?" He asks.

"I will tell you on the roof. Ok?" I ask. I didn't want to talk about it here, where we could be overheard. He must understand because he doesn't pressure me to answer and gets up to deposit his tray. I follow shortly after.

When we enter the Training Center, I notice that he has his mask back on. I act skittish around him and hesitant to follow him. We approach the endurance area to test our, well endurance. The trainer tells us that this is a two person activity and that we have to have our arms latched together. Cato grunts in annoyance but agrees to do it with me none the less. I see a small smile appear on his face though.

We get our hands latched together and wait at the start line for the instructor to get his stopwatch. He counts down from three and then Cato and I sprint off. First there is straight way with little cannons along the sides of the path. The cannons shoot out rubber balls that are suppose to knock you off balance and fall to the ground. Cato and I dodge all of the projectiles that come our way and in less than a few seconds we are out of the straight way.

Next, there is a wall that you have to climb while dodging falling objects such as barrels, boxes, and also dummies. Cato slips on one of the stones but quickly recovers and we start back up the wall.

Once we get over the wall, there is a balance bridge that stretches across to another wall. On the sides of the balance bridge, there are more cannons and some Avoxes with huge rods to try and knock us off with. We slowly inch across with Cato leading, of course, and we get halfway across before he slips over the side. I quickly grab his arm and the look on his face showed surprise all over. I quickly pull him up while dodging one of the rods from an avox. Once he is back on the bridge, we run to the other end before one of us can get knocked off again.

We make it to the other wall and jump down to the ground and race off to the finish line. The instructor is there waiting for us and gives us our time. It took us around 12 minutes to finish the course. He said that it was a new record and that we would make a great team.

"Hey, Peeta. That was a great run." Cato complimented. "I knew that you would be a better partner than Marvel on this area." My cheeks turned peach with the compliments I was receiving from Cato.

Before too long, training day one is over and we are sent up to our rooms. Cato holds me back a minute and reminds me to go up to the roof after dinner. He goes up to the elevators and I follow him. He presses the buttons "2" and "12" and the elevator shoots up at blinding speed. He gives me a quick smile and then walks into the gorgeous room. From what I see, the walls are covered in waterfalls and the tables are made of clear glass.

There is another beautiful sight in the room and it is slowly walking away from me. He turns around and sees me staring at his ass. He gives me a smirk and a small wink before the doors close on us. The elevator then shoots up to my floor where Katniss is standing there waiting on me.

"What the hell was that about? Are you with those stuck up Careers?" She sneered at me. I was scared for my life and didn't know what to tell her. I ran through the possible explanations and only one could come to mind.

"I'm doing it to drive them away from you in the arena," I said quietly. It was actually true even though the real reason is to make it easier to get back to Cole.

"Why do I need your help? I can make it home perfectly fine without you. You are basically useless to me." She said harshly with venom.

"Katniss, why do you hate me so much? I didn't do anything to you, yet you treat me like trash. I don't understand." I am so confused about her harshness to me. She was sweet to me years ago when I needed help with Cole. That is when it hit me. "You were just being nice to me for Cole weren't you?"

"It took you long enough to figure it out. Yes, I did it all for Cole. He needed help and I felt sorry for him because of the incident, so I helped take you to my mother. If I wasn't sorry for him, then I would have left you there." She said all of this with a smug smirk on his face. Her words were like knives that repeatedly stabbed at my heart. I lost all respect for her at that point.

"You know what, Katniss. Fuck you. I thought that you were a sweet girl at first and wanted to help you get home, but now I couldn't give two shits about you. I will make sure that the Careers will find you in that arena." With that said, I stormed off to my room seething with rage. **I can't believe that bitch. She only helped me because of Cole. **I thought about Cole for a little bit. It wasn't his fault that I was pissed. It was because I thought that she actually cared for people

I sat on my bed for an hour or so just trying to calm down when Effie finally called me to dinner. I hesitantly got up and unlatched my door. I walked down the hallway to the dining area and to the mahogany table, where I made certain to stay as far away from Katniss as possible.

We eat in silence for a few minutes before Haymitch starts questioning us. "So how did your first day go you two?" He looks between us, waiting for a response.

"Well, I found out that bread boy over there is working with the Careers, that little prick." With that comment, I stand from the table and march out of there and to the elevator. Effie is shouting "Manners" behind me while I storm off and it gets muffled when the elevator doors close on her yells.

I scan the buttons and find one with an "R" on it and press it. The elevator then shoots up to the roof and I arrive in less than a few minutes. I gasp in awe at the beautiful sight in front of me. The walls are made completely out of glass so its easy to see the lights of the entire city in the glory of the radiant sunset.

Half of the roof is covered in a garden that has various plants and trees in it. There are gardenias, tulips, roses of a variety colors, oaks, evergreens, and other various trees and plants. I walk around the garden and see a small pond with beautiful shimmering koi fish. To the right of the little oasis, is an oak wood bench where I decide to sit and rest my thoughts. A slight breeze picks up and rustles through my hair and the leaves in the trees.

I hear someone clear there throat to my left and see Cato there smiling. "Hey, Peeta. You're here pretty early aren't you? Is everything ok?" He asks with total concern on his face.

I shake my head. "No. Katniss just snapped at me about me joining you and she even admitted to why she practically saved my life years ago." My face is downcast so that he doesn't see the sorrow expression across my face.

"What happened to you years ago?" I turned to look at him and I saw a quizzical look on his face. I am scared to tell him but take a deep breathe before explaining.

"Well, let me start at the beginning." I start off. "Four years ago, my friend Cole had lost everything. He lost his father, mother, and the trust in his brother."

"What happened with his brother?"

"His brother raped him the night after his mother's execution. They were staying at the community home, which is like the orphanage, and his brother Clay came back apparently drunk and raped him." I said while closing my eyes back on the memory.

"That son of a bitch!" He steamed. "What older sibling would do that to there own younger sibling!" I can understand his anger since that is how I felt at first. He takes deep breathes as he tries to calm down.

When I see that he is finally calm, I continue the story. "After Cole got raped by his brother, he came to my house where my family and I started to take care of him. The next day at school, as we were about to leave, I noticed that Cole was no where in sight. I ran back into the building and hear him shout my name. I open the janitor's closet and see Clay about to rape him again and Cole has a bruise on his face from where his brother punched him." I hear Cato give a low growl but continue my story. "I drag Clay out of the closet while screaming at him and then we start to fight. I think it lasted for around thirty minutes, but I can't remember because I blacked out. The next thing I knew was that I woke up at Katniss's house with a broken arm, black eye, and some bruising. Mrs. Everdeen, Katniss's mother if you couldn't guess, told me that Cole and Katniss brought me to her house, where she took care of my injuries. I thought at first that she did that because she also cared for me, but she did it all for Cole. I don't blame him. I mostly blame myself for being so stupid as to think that Katniss could care about me."

"That prick." He says seething, but then calms down when he sees my condition. Next, the most unimaginable thing happens. Cato scoots closer to me and gives me a warm embrace. I will admit that I am shocked but that quickly dissipates as I accept the caring gesture. I wrap my arms around him and return the comforting hug.

After a few minutes, we break from the embrace and I stare into his sapphire eyes. I quickly look away and feel a blush on my face. I hear him give a light chuckle and it sounds so sweet. I decide that since I told him about me it's his turn, so I ask him one of the biggest questions I have wanted to ask him. "Hey, Cato." I address him calmly.

"Yes, Peeta." He answers back.

"Why did you volunteer?" I hear him sigh as if he expected this.

"I volunteered because I was forced to by my father." I am taken back by this. What father would do that to their own son? He continues with his story. "Now you are probably thinking what father would do that to their own son," **mind reader. **"but remember that I am from a Career district so it is a huge honor to most. I actually didn't want to be in these games but my father threatened to kill me and my younger brothers if I didn't do it. I had no choice but to agree to him. I love my brothers, so I couldn't say no." I could see his eyes start to water up. I was a little shocked at first to see this huge boy cry, but that disappeared and I wrap my arms around him and comfort him. He cries quietly into my hair for a few minutes before he backs away. "Thank you, Peeta." I give him a smile as a welcome and he starts to ask me questions. I answer all of them from things about Cole to things about me. "Did your family visit you while you were waiting to leave?"

I immediately feel depressed at the memory of my parents. "Yeah they visited but it wasn't a good one. My father and brothers believed in me, but my mom did not. She said that maybe our district will have a victor this year."

"Well how is that bad?" He asked.

"She meant Katniss instead of me. She never truly liked me or Cole. She would always beat us with her rolling pin when we made a mistake. Oh no, Cato what if she hurts him while I'm gone? I told him I would be there to keep him safe."

"I'm sure he is fine, Peeta. Let's take your mind off of your mother. Did Cole visit you while you were there?" This question is the one that breaks me. I can't hold back the tears the flow down my face like raging rapids. I slowly nod at him. "What did he say?"

"He wanted me to make a promise. A promise to make it back to him and still be me." I feel his hand on my face now, and he is wiping away the tears that cover my face.

He speaks in a soothing tone. "There is no need for tears, Peeta. I made the same promise to my brothers when they visited me. I will make a promise to you." I turn to him and wait expectantly. "I promise you that I will protect you till the end and will not kill you, but you have to promise me the same. Deal?" He stretches out his hand.

I stare at the outstretched hand for a minute before finally reaching out and shaking his hand firmly. "Deal."

* * *

_**There you have it. We find out that Cato has two brothers and was forced to enter the games. I wonder how this will unfold. I hope that you loved it and please review this form me. Thanks for reading.**_


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